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Historic Mackinac Island on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a fun place to take the entire family. Explore the island via bicycle or on foot via dozens of hiking trails. Or take a carriage tour to get a feel for all the island offers. Visitors can take the ferry back to the mainland to camp for the night since no campgrounds exist on the island. Several nearby towns offer camping within a 15-minute drive of the ferry.

State Park

Straits State Park (dnr.state.mi.us) in St. Ignace, located directly west of Mackinac Island, offers campsites with views of the Mackinac Bridge and the Straits of Mackinac. The shady campsites feature electricity hookups, picnic tables and fire rings. Amenities include restrooms with showers. A beach area offers swimming with a playground located nearby. Take the 1-mile Straits-Main Trail to explore the park while getting views of the water. An observation platform offers more views of the bridge and straits. The Father Marquette Memorial is located in the park along with an interpretive trail that leads to an panoramic outlook.

Mackinaw City Campgrounds

Mackinaw City offers several private campgrounds, including Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping (campmackinaw.com). The campground caters to RV and tent campers with full hookups, restrooms with showers, a heated pool and game room. The campground also offers an 18-hole golf course. Another camping option includes Tee Pee Campground (teepeecampground.com) with both tent and RV sites with full hookups. Every site contains a picnic table and campfire rings. It also has showers, a recreation room and a camp store along with horseshoe pits, basketball courts and a sandy beach with a playground. The campground hosts a beach bonfire every night during the summer.

St. Ignace Campgrounds

Several campgrounds offer sites in the town of St. Ignace, including Lakeshore RV Park (lakeshoreparkcampground.com). The campground is two miles west of the town of St. Ignace and just 15 minutes from the Mackinac Island ferries. While the campsites are located across a road that fronts Lake Michigan, none of the sites offer views of the lake. Open from May through mid-October, sites for tents and RVs offer electricity, water and sewer. On-site amenities include a bathhouse with restrooms, fire rings and picnic tables. Head down to the rocky shore to enjoy lunch at the picnic tables or use the open pavilion to enjoy some shade.

Planning

Several ferry companies offer daily departures to Mackinac Island. Since no vehicles are allowed on the island, you must leave your RVs and automobiles at the campground or in the ferry parking lot. You can bring your bicycle on the ferry. Shepler’s Ferry Service (sheplersferry.com) offers a ride at 10 a.m. that takes you under the Mackinac Bridge, where you can enjoy close-up views of the structure.

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About the Author

Nancy Wagner is a marketing strategist and speaker who started writing in 1998. She writes business plans for startups and established companies and teaches marketing and promotional tactics at local workshops. Wagner's business and marketing articles have appeared in "Home Business Journal," "Nation’s Business," "Emerging Business" and "The Mortgage Press," among others. She holds a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University.

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